and the Management Sciences A Paradigmatic Analysis Contrasting Information Systems Development Approaches and Methodologies

This paper analyses the fundamental philosophical assumptions of five “contrasting ” in-formation systems development (ISD) approaches: the interactionist approach, the speech act-based approach, the soft systems methodology approach, the trade unionist approach, and the professional work practice approach. These five approaches are selected for analysis be-cause they illustrate alternative philosophical assumptions from the dominant “orthodoxy” identified in the research literature. The paper also proposes a distinction between “approach” and “methodology. ” The analysis of the five approaches is organized around four basic ques-tions: What is the assumed nature of an information system (ontology)? What is human knowl-edge and how can it be obtained (epistemology)? What are the preferred research methods for continuing the improvement of each approach (research methodology)? and what are the implied values of information system research (ethics)? Each of these questions is explored from the internal perspective of the particular ISD approach. The paper addresses these ques-tions through a conceptual structure which is based on a paradigmatic framework for analyz-ing ISD approaches